Finnish people are nature people. Finnish nature is unique, beautiful and very important to us all. Nature and its importance is even embedded in the unofficial slogan of Finland; “the land of thousand lakes.”
In the world stage its rare to have so much nature around even in the heart of the capital. Finnish city planners appreciate nature and its value to the wellbeing of individuals. I can confidently say that almost all people in Finland live under 30 minutes away from forests, and even in the heart of the cities there are big parks filled with diverse nature for all to enjoy. I think that most people don’t even realize the unique position they have regarding the easy access to nature.
In my opinion the Finnish nature is one of the most important national identities of Finnish people. For me, the access to nature is a key part of my Finnishness. For me its a place to relax and decompress when I’m stressed, and a place to gain inspiration and motivation for my studies, hobbies and life in general. I have been part of the boy scout organization all my life, so I have spent a big part of my life hiking and camping in every part of Finnish nature.
When you look at interviews conducted by foreign media about the Finland’s status as the happiest country on earth, one answer is frequent among the Finnish people; that’s nature. Even the most city-living and urban Finnish people recognizes the importance of nature and say it as a part of their Finnishness. Finnish nature and it’s place in our society must be protected and celebrated, because without our nature our Finnishness is Finnish less.
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